stretching

Static vs dynamic stretching. What’s the difference and what should I be doing?

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When it comes to preparing your body for a workout, the notion of static stretching as a warm-up is facing a considerable challenge. Recent research is uncovering potential drawbacks, revealing that this traditional approach might not be the performance booster we once believed it to be. In fact, static stretching could have the counterintuitive effect of decreasing muscle power for hours post-stretch, potentially hindering your athletic performance.

The promise of injury prevention often associated with static stretching seems to fall short in the scientific realm. Studies are urging fitness enthusiasts to pivot toward dynamic exercises for a more effective warm-up routine. Dynamic exercises, such as proprioceptive training, strength workouts, and dynamic warm-ups, are emerging as champions in preserving performance levels and reducing the risk of injuries.

The shift from static to dynamic warm-ups has a growing evidence base. Dynamic exercises engage your muscles in a way that static stretching simply doesn’t. They prepare your body for the dynamic movements that lie ahead in your workout, enhancing flexibility, blood flow, and overall performance. As we bid adieu to the old-school static stretches, consider embracing a new era of warm-up routines that incorporate dynamic, agility, strength, and balance exercises for superior results.

So, before you settle into that long-held stretch pre-workout, take a moment to reassess. Your body might just thank you for the switch, unlocking a new realm of athletic potential and injury prevention. After all, in the dynamic world of fitness, adaptability is key. ????????

Bending the back

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Back pain physio newcastle australiaWe all know the old posters showing correct lifting technique. An ominous red cross stamped atop a person bending the back to pick up a box. The message was clear “keep the spine straight and move through the hips and knees when lifting”.  After all, many back injuries result from lifting with a rounded spine. However, what if there is no load or you are not lifting? Is it unsafe to tie our shoes, or play with the kids? This message has been misinterpreted somewhat. Fearing bending the back (spinal flexion) when it is not under load in some cases can lead to persisting back pain. The problem is that if we don’t move and stretch our spine, it can become inflexible and tight, possibly leading to further injury. Maintaining flexibility and stability throughout our spine is optimal to allow us to perform everyday tasks and reduce back pain.

If you have recurrent back pain and don’t stretch contact us on 4921 6879 and we can develop a suitable program of movement to reduce pain.

NU Pilates is also a great way to introduce safe spinal flexibility and core stability for those who want general body conditioning for back pain. A physiotherapist supervises our small group classes, so your exercises are modified appropriately to suit your body.

To bend or not to bend – the choice is yours.

The effect of static stretching on performance and preventing injury

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Stretching

Historically many people have used static stretching – a long hold and the end of available muscle length – as a part of a “warm up” routine before sport or exercise. But the research doesn’t back it up, and it may be detrimental.

Let’s talk about performance first. Static stretching actually decreases muscle power for a period of time – the period is debatable, but at least 5 minutes and up to 3 hours – after stretching is performed1,2. This also applies for contract-relax or proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF) stretching. This could easily impair athletic performance, especially in sports where high force generation is required. Dynamic exercise/facilitation exercises do not seem to have this power loss effect.

What about injury prevention? Nope, no help there either. A very large study by Lauersen et al. (2014) which synthesises the best quality research surrounding injury prevention to date reported no reduction (or increase) in injury risk for people who performed static stretching3. What they did find was that proprioceptive training, strength training and a dynamic warmup did reduce the risk of acute and overuse type injuries4,5,6.

It’s hard to break old habits, but if static stretching can impair your performance and doesn’t make any difference to injury risk, it may be time to change it up. Athletes can derive a greater benefit by spending that time on a dynamic proprioceptive, agility, strength and balance training program warmup.

If you aren’t about to perform a physically demanding athletic activity and you enjoy stretching, go for it. There is no harm in stretching and if you haven’t got the mobility to perform a sport or task then both static and dynamic stretches are options to achieve this.

To read more about avoiding running injuries, click here and to read up on how to prevent injuries during pre- season click here.

  1. Marek, S. M., Cramer, J. T., Fincher, A. L., & Massey, L. L. (2005). Acute effects of static and proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation stretching on muscle strength and power output. Journal of Athletic Training, 40(2), 94.
  2. Behm, D. G., Bambury, A., Cahill, F., & Power, K. (2004). Effect of acute static stretching on force, balance, reaction time, and movement time.Medicine and science in sports and exercise, 36, 1397-1402.
  3. Lauersen JB(1), Bertelsen DM, Andersen LB. Br J Sports Med. 2014 Jun;48(11):871-7. doi: 10.1136/bjsports-2013-092538. Epub 2013 Oct 7. The effectiveness of exercise interventions to prevent sports injuries: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials.
  4. Soligard, T., Nilstad, A., Steffen, K., Myklebust, G., Holme, I., Dvorak, J., … & Andersen, T. E. (2010). Compliance with a comprehensive  warm-up programme to prevent injuries in youth football. British journal of sports medicine, 44(11), 787-793.
  5. Soligard, T., Myklebust, G., Steffen, K., Holme, I., Silvers, H., Bizzini, M., … & Andersen, T. E. (2008). Comprehensive warm-up programme to prevent injuries in young female footballers: cluster randomised controlled trial. Bmj,337, a2469.
  6. Herman, K., Barton, C., Malliaras, P., & Morrissey, D. (2012). The effectiveness of neuromuscular warm-up strategies, that require no additional equipment, for preventing lower limb injuries during sports participation: a systematic review. BMC medicine, 10(1), 1.

Common biomechanical problems with runners – flexibility

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Stretching running physiotherapy

Last week’s blog looked at strength in key muscle groups for runners. This blog is highlighting areas of the body where flexibility is useful at preventing pain associated with running. There has been a lot of research on muscle length / flexibility relative to preventing injuries and the summary is commonly that it doesn’t help. However sometimes the research doesn’t give us the full picture on how to help an individual with pain and that is where having an experienced physio counts. Helping runners return to exercise after pain or injury results in a wealth of experience based knowledge. In relation to muscle length it is that if you don’t have the mobility in the correct places it can lead to injury. An obvious example is a hurdler who tightens up in the hamstring and lacks the flexibility to get the front leg over the bar.  The key area for everyday runners to maintain flexibility is in the front of the hip.

The front of the hip / hip flexors includes 3 muscles, one of which is the TFL (tensor fascia lata) that connects to the ITB (iliotibial band). One example of a common runner’s problem is not having enough hip flexor length which can impair the buttock (gluteal) muscle function and lead to the TFL muscle working harder to stabilise the pelvis whilst running. This can then lead to ITB tightness and pain in runners. Another example is tightness in the hip flexors leading to an increased arch in your back. When this combines with the glut’s switching off hip or back pain are common.

hip flexor tightness and low back pain
Tight hip flexors

Correctly stretching your hip flexors should be comfortable. It is possible to make short lasting improvements in muscle length so if you are tight you need to stretch before you run (despite some research assumptions!). Don’t forget to control the pelvis when stretching.

hip flexor stretch
hip flexor stretch – pelvic tilt / roll

The best plan is if you have pain then get one of the experienced NU Moves physio’s to assess and determine if that’s what you need to get you back to running pain free.